Chicago!

Last Saturday was so much fun! Brooklyn & I flew into Chicago for the day to meet with other mommies from a board I often go on (ok, obessively go on) & their adorable babies! Our flight left @ 10:44a so we left for the airport @ 8a, got some breakfast, then Cakes & I made our way through security which was a pain in the patted arse. I had to take my shoes off, Brookie's shoes off (why'd I pick lace up shoes?!?!?), take off my sweater & her sweater (bc apparently my 1 year old looked like she was packin ice!), & then put my stroller through the belt. Then they opened up her milk bottles, dipsticked them, also opened her juice & dipsticked it, used some sort of wand over her sunscreen, lotion, & my antibacterial bottles, then wanded my hands.

 

Then we boarded the plane & I was so nervous. I specifically asked for seats in the very back & by the window. She did sooo great, fell asleep about 15 minutes into the flight with her bottle. I on the other hand did not do so great. We hit some turbulence, pretty rough might I add, & the plane was shaking. All that was going through my mind was the scene from Final Destination. Stupid Devon Sawa. The seatbelt light stayed on through the entire flight which was fine by me because I wasn't goin anywhere. I'd risk a UTI just to stay put.

It was really fun to be up so high though....And the fact that she took her bottle & fell asleep was perrrrrrfect!The flight attendants & other passengers were so nice & helped us out. Everyone kept saying what a good flyer she was as if she were a pro AND she even got her first pair of flying wings!
 

So when we landed, my friend Haley & her sweet daughter Ella picked us up. When Brooklyn saw Ella she was so excited, she loves babies! Well, that excitement turned to the girls having a crying competition which led to Ella up puking all over herself. Brooklyn, not one to be outdone, then in turned ralphed all over herself. The smell...ohhh the smell.

When we get to the park, we spent a good half hour cleaning the girlies up, throwing diapers & wipes & puke stained clothes all over the parking lot lol Yes yes, we cleaned it up. Litter=not cool.

We all decided to meet at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. It was huge & free admission--woo hoo! Wasn't hard to spot us...just look for 12 women with 12 strollers, that's us!Brooklyn was having a great time chasing the crawling beebs....Talking to boys.....shhh don't tell Daddy!Eating mulch... Just being her uber cute self :)Chatting it up with her "puke buddy" Ella lol Telling BIIIIIIIG stories & Ella's like no.way!

 

After everyone left, my friend Caroline & her lil stud Timmy had us over to their apartment. It was so nice walking through Chicago just chattin away while our lil ones took a snoozer (well, while Timmy refused to give in to sleep!)

Timmy had some super cool toys which Brookie took upon herself to chew on (she might as well of just peed all over his toyroom) and then she decided to take the plunge & show her love for Timmy.....her love is juuuuust a tad aggressive lol Poor Timmy was covered in Brookie slobber from all the smoochies!
Caroline drove Cakes & I to the airport where we got a snack & gossip magazines, some Starbucks & just waited for our flight. Of course our gate changed twice so we did some running around but once we were back on the plane, I was exhaaausted. Brookie, of course, caught a second wind & was pumped. We took an airbus into Chicago so it was pretty spacious for a plane. We took a jet home to Ohio soooo it was tiny. Like tiny tiny. Thank goodness the sweet man sitting beside us had a soft spot for kiddies. He let Brooklyn rub her foot up against him & they babbled back and forth. Best of all, we had turbulence on the way home so the seatbelt light stayed on aaaand Brooklyn took a hellacious poo about 10 minutes post flight. So we all wallowed in it. Fun times!

Dustin & my momma were waiting for us when we landed & it was so great to be home. I loved having the whole day with my girly...but I'm thinking next time Daddy's gotta come along!

GTG!

Yep, Brooklyn & I are headed to Chicago tomorrow! Initially we intended on making the 5 hour trip, but then I realized what a horrible driver I am & axed that idea. Seriouslly, I blew a tire 45 minutes away from B-Town & freaked out....what the bejebus would I do if that happened somewhere in Illinois with a 1 year old screaming in the background with a diaper full of poo? Sooo we decided to fly. We got a good deal on a flight (thanks William Shatner!!!) & it's only an hour there & back. My momma is taking us bright & early to the airport, we leave @ 10:44 & then Haley & Miss Ella are picking us up! I'm so excited to spend the day with these ladies & their adorable beebs! My flight home takes off @ 7:35 that night (I know, 2 flights in 1 day is criZAZY) and Caroline & lil Timmy are taking us back to the airport. Seriouslly, I couldn't ask for 2 sweeter women!!! And then my momma & Dustin will be picking us up. Tomorrow is going to be a BIG DAY! But I couldn't be more excited! Everyone just keep us in your thoughts & prayers for a safe flight & landing x 2! Pics will definately be soon to follow!

Tea & Strumpets

Just a couple uber cute pics of the Cakes!

Her EEEEEEEEE face.....Jack Jaw Brookie!She looks like such a little girl. Where oh where did my beebs go?!?!?

Brooklyn knows she is not allowed in the bathroom. She has some TP obsession & feels it necessary to unroll/eat it. She sees no problem with it....so she's trying to see under the door about what's so forbiddenTea Time!

Lil Brookie Buttcrack :P

The Time Of My Life

RIP Patrick
Dirty Dancing (my all time fav)...Ghost...Point Break...To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar...Road House=Classics

Weekend Update

Aww, the title makes me miss Tina Fey & Amy Poehler on SNL :(

Anywho, this weekend was pretty busy with Cameron's 9th bday party--no camera=no pics! But he had a great day with his crizazy friends @ the bowling alley! Of course Brooklyn was all ready for the OSU vs. USC game

We won't talk about how that ended *insert mean face here! >:( there, that kinda looks mean with the V unibrow*. Then we went over to Galion for the Fall Festival Dustin's work was having. It was a pretty good turnout, lots of kids there having a blast!

Poor Brooklyn was terried of the animals! There was 2 goats, an antelope, a camel, a tortoise, & a kangaroo. Everytime they made a little noise, she'd shudder & whine lol

So the mean mommy I am put the girl scared of animals on a pony! Trigger was such a nice guy & Brook wanted nothing to do with him lol

Look @ the face. It's a desperate plea for Gramma to put the camera down & rescue her!! It's ok for Mommy to touch him....but Brooklyn? Fugetaboutit! After the festival, we went to Mansfield for a lil Old Navy shopping. The sales there on baby clothes are ridonkulous!!!! I couldn't stop myself! It made no sense in my mind to walk out of there with nothing when I was actually saving money by spending money. 2 for $10, 2 for $15, 70% off...who could resist?!? We also went to Once Upon A Child & I found an amazing double jogging stroller for $70. It was in great condition & easily could've been over $200. But I couldn't justify buying it though. Well, I guess the other seat could've been used for her huge Brobee :)

Finally, we decided on Brookie's Halloween costume. I originally wanted a bumblebee costume with the adorable antenna & lil tutu, but I know Brooklyn & there's no way that antenna headband would stay on her head all night without a fight. Plus Ohio has the most bi-polar weather, I was afraid a tutu & tights might be too cold. Then I saw an adorable peacock....for $35 not even including shipping. And my luck, she'd refuse to wear it! That's precious money that could be spent on Baby Gap! lol Soooo I found an awesome deal on a brand spanking new with tags costume & tights on ebay.
Isn't this the cutest?!? Brookie's gonna be a waddlin penguin...kinda like Mommy circa August 2008! I am so excited to see her all dressed up walking around...maybe I could even teach her to waddle hahaha

the birthday story

I was sooo excited about Brooklyn turning 1 that I could barely sleep the night before lol. We had a goal in mind...wake up @ 730 so she could take a nap from 1030-1230 & be ready for the party @ 2. Plan=FAIL! We woke up close to 9 & Brooklyn only napped from 11-12 & was getting pretty cranky @ the end of her party. Ohhhhhh well....

Anyways, I'm a big lover of traditions. HUGE! I love how every year Dustin's dad side of the family all gets together Christmas morning & eats Grandma Stauffers ham, egg, & cheese quiche and how every year at Thanksgiving, Dustin's mom side always makes Secret Santa lists & everyone pulls on out of the hat. Traditions are huge for me & so I decided to start one for Brooklyn's birthday. Now, it might change the older she gets, but I'll still do it every year for her. For breakfast, I made her cinnamon buns & chocolate milk. She loved it! (Plus I was a sneaky Mommy...in her sippy was 3/4 whole milk & 1/4 chocolate milk hehehe)

So after breakfast, we all played for awhile & then had to start getting things around. Dustin tended to Brooklyn & got her down for a nap while I went around & got her balloons blown up ($1 a balloon....seriously, I was so pissed. I thought it'd be like a quarter! Helium isn't made of gold. And I had 31 balloons to blow up...ya, we just settled with 15) and I needed to finish her Brookie favors & her month by month banner.

P.S...Brookie's are absolutely addicting! They're half brownie, half cookie all discombobbled together. And they're super easy to make. We usually just make ours in a big pan, but for guests, we made them in mini cupcake liners. Just get your fav brownie mix & your fav chocolate chip cookie mix, make the batters, then line the bottom of the pan or liners with the brownie mix. On top, put a dallop of cookie dough & you're set. Bake @ 350, 10 minutes for the mini guys, 30 mins or so for the pan. The cookies will bake faster than the brownies, so you have to let them cool for awhile. But I promise, they are moist & delish & seriouslly YUM-O!

So, Brooklyn woke up from her nap & I got her all dressed. She looked SO adorable! Once again, my mother in law made her dress. I got her lil shoes on ebay & her headband on etsy. I also ordered her a pair of cupcake socks from etsy but when I put them on her, it was a bit much. So we just went with regular footies. We were ready to party! We had the party at Dustin's Grandma & Grandpa Weber's house. It's in the country & has alot of land for the kids to run & play. We had cornhole boards set up & the kids loved it! I was soooo scared about the weather. It ALWAYS rains Labor Day weekend in Ohio. Saturday was gorgeous & I thought Oh My Gravy, it's gonna rain all the live long day Sunday. But Mother Nature smiled on us & it was B-E-A-UITFUL! Mid 80's, a lil humid, but sunny & gorgeous.

The party started around 2 & we had a pretty good turn out. We invited about 70 people-- Dustin's family is huge! And about 50 came which we were stoked about, it was great having all of our family & friends there! We used the same caterer that did our wedding & my baby shower to bring the food to the party & it was great! I sure do love me some fruit kabobs & the veggie pizza is killer!

After we ate the kids tore into the pinata. When all the candy fell out Brooklyn just kinda sat there & held onto 1 mini 3 Musketeers bar lol Then we did presents & finally her cake! I made her giant cupcake & actually had fun doing it. Everyone loved it & it's super simple. All you need is a Wilton Giant Cupcake pan ( I got mine cheap on ebay. Instead of $30, it was $14)

I used a little under 2 boxes of funfetti cake. And I baked each cake seperately because the top will bake faster than the bottom. I also wanted to make a "liner" for the bottom of the cupcake. So I went to JoAnn Fabrics & got a bag of pink Wilton Candy Melts, popped half of them in the microwave for 1 minute & poured them into the bottom of the pan. Spread it all around & then put it in the fridge for about a half hour. Then melt the other half of the bag in the microwave, make a second coat on the bottom pan, and pop back into the fridge. Also, be sure you give it a good bang or two on the table to get the air bubbles out. I waited about 2 hours before taking it out the 2nd time. It came out super easy with 2 bangs on the table.
After the cakes cool, you'll have to cut the bottom cake to fit into the candy liner. And then cut the bottom of the top a little bit to lay flat. I used icing as glue & then just ice & decorate the top! It turned out soooo good! Brooklyn barely made a dent in it though, just mainly ate the icing but she had fun!!

All in all, Brooklyn's 1st birthday party was amazing. Dustin & I are so blessed to have such incredible friends & family. I can't believe our baby's 1! 1 YEAR OLD!

One Pork Chop :)

Soooooo I'm playing a lil game with my nestie friend Natalie. Believe you me, this woman is one hilarious mamacita! Check out her & her unbelieveably cute daughter @ http://www.oneporkchop.blogspot.com/!

And here's the answer to Miss Nat's question.....

When Brooklyn was born, what do you remember the most about those first few moments with her?

Well, to be honest, I barely remember much from the first few hours after waking up from the c-section. I didn't get to technically meet Brooklyn until she was almost 2 hours old. I remember having the nurse bring a bundled baby in & asking me to repeat the number on my bracelet...93122. Then she said Ok, this is her! Those 4 words made me start crying & then she placed my daughter in my arms. I remember I just kept saying Hi Baby...Hi Baby...Those few moments were so surreal, kind of like a dream. Best thing is my husband recorded it all, so I can watch it anytime I want. And yes, I cry every time I watch it :)

2 Years & Counting.....

Yesterday Dustin & I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary! I totally neglected the whole reminising thang because A. I wanted to get the birfday pics up and 2. Work was uber busy & I was spent! So on down memory lane we go....just a day late :)

The night before the wedding, the maids all spent the night @ our house. We got bored....and started feeling destructive. So while Dustin did this.....

We did this to his car!!!

SURPRISE!!!!

The morning of the wedding, the weather looked pretty good.....ya, that was short lived. It rained all.the.live.long.day. Ohhhh the humidity!!!! I'm sure Dustin was surprised to see he was marrying Weird Al instead of me! It was 90 degrees in the church (A/C less church mind you) & I had on way to many layers of dress & sucker inners & ughhh, I was a schweaty betty!

But even though it poured (and lightening struck while we were saying our vows to each other), it was the most amazing day of our lives....well, until September 6th of the next year :)

Memory candle for my dad. Also hanging from my bouquet was the locket he gave me the Christmas before he passed. It was my way of having him walk me down the aisleCheck out Jeffy's eye...while they were lifting me, I accidently stabbed him with my fake fingernail. Arrrrrrgh!!!!!You Raise Meeeeee Upppppppppp!

Happily Ever After <3